The
Need to Address Eating Disorders: Some Facts & Statistics
- According to a Newsweek article, in 1988, America
spent $33 billion on diets and diet-related products. To put this number
in perspective, make comparison: to achieve his number one priority, President
Bush allocated $7.9 billion to the war on drugs in 1989. (Taken from
the National AnorexicAid Society Newsletter, April-June, 1991) As dieting
and the relentless pursuit to be thin translates into methods of fasting,
self induced vomiting, laxative abuse and diuretic abuse, a growing number
of adolescents are developing eating disorders.
- The prevalance of eating disorders amoung junior
high and high school is approximately 10%. (JADA 1992; 92:306-312)
- The prevalance of eating disorders in the community
is estimated at 7%. (Fairburn, C. from phone interview 1992)
- Experts say they see no end to the diet industry's
continued growth due to its best customer - the professional female dieter.
- North American models weigh 23% less today then
the average female weight.
- Research has found that by the age of 18, 80% of
females are or have been actively dieting.
- Up to 77% of female students assessed were actively
trying to lose weight.
- 16% of 1,200 students assessed from the Cleveland
State University survey were actively vomiting to counter weight gain.
- A recent survey by the Center for Disease Control
reveled that in 11,600 8th through 10th graders, 34% were actively using dieting
pills, 23% were actively vomiting to reduce weight and 61% of the girls
and 28% of the boys were actively dieting to lose weight.
- In the early 1970's a survey of teenagers found
that only about 6% were worried about their body weight. While a survey
in the 1980's found that 31% of the teenagers (both boys and girls) were worried
that they weight too much. In another recent study of almost 500 San
Francisco school girls, mostly from middle income families, 81% of the 10-year-olds
reported that they had already dieted at least once.
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